Even in the shallow end...

We went to the Nats game Tuesday night, which was a little more exciting than your average baseball game, because that was the night the Nationals welcomed a new pitcher man (more like pitcher boy, at not-yet 22 years of age!), Stephen Strasburg.


G and me before the game

Now, I'm no baseball expert. I can't bear to sit through a four-hour televised game, though I do enjoy a good at-the-ballpark game experience. But even I went "wow." I read the following in an article about Strasburg's major league debut: “'I think, in baseball, it’s the obvious that sells,' Boras said on the field before the game. 'The Picassos, the Chagalls, everybody knows what they look like. When you see power in baseball — you see power hitters, power pitchers — fans of any depth know the difference.'”

My thoughts:
(1) Not so sure everyone knows who Chagall is.
(2) "fans of any depth" - I'd be in the shallow end, and even I could see that Strasburg's something special :o)
PLUS, I have to appreciate the efficiency with which he works, no dilly-dallying - when's the last time you've seen a baseball game last a mere 2 hours, 19 minutes?



The game was made even more exciting by the fact that we were sitting in same seriously good seats - in the "PNC Diamond Club" section, less than two dozen rows behind home plate, complete with fancy bar-lounge area - thanks to G (and work). Check out the view from our seats:


All in all, it was a good night.


Dad, me, G after the game

Weekend Sewing: Summer Blouse

It's done! After a couple of days of diligent sewing, seam-ripping, and re-sewing, I finished the Summer Blouse from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing.


(FRONT)


(BACK)

I threw caution to the wind and made a few adjustments/modifications - aka I made stuff up.
 
1. I used some wide, 1-inch vintage bias tape for the collar and the bottom hem. I just put right sides together, stitched, and then folded the wrong sides together, leaving a small amount of the binding showing from the right side.


and...


2. I added bias tape to the hem rather than sewing a double-folded hem, because the darn front and back pieces were so short, as cut out according to pattern! As it is, it's still a little too short for my long torso, so my mom got a little present.

3. The blouse is also way too loose, so I had the brilliant idea of imitating a store-bought shirt of which I'm fond. (It's from Hollister, if you can believe it - a 30-year-old, shopping at Hollister... Let me tell you, being called "miss" by a 19-year-old was simultaneously bizarre, creepy, and flattering.) I added two parallel darts in the back, with self-ties, for well, tying. Unfortunately, I neglected to take into account the fact that the Hollister shirt is (of course) cut more narrowly than the Summer Blouse, and thus the darts should have been placed further apart. Live and learn.



I learned quite a lot doing this project. I used bias tape for the first time, I made darts, I added improvised darts and waist/back ties, I learned how to slip stitch... And I learned how to set in sleeves into a sewn shirt. Yay me!

Food experiment #9: White clam sauce

In response to a request from Mom for a white sauce (non-tomato-based) for tonight's pasta dinner, I decided to make a white clam sauce. It turned out to be pretty good - rich yet not-too-heavy, suitably clam-tinged but not overwhelmingly fishy. The true test of whether a pasta dish (that's not spaghetti with giant meatballs) is a success in this household is whether Dad likes it. He ate three hefty helpings, so I'm thinking this recipe passed the test, with flying colors...


Pasta with White Clam Sauce (4 servings)

3 strips of bacon, cut into small pieces
1 tsp - 1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil

6-8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 cans clams - I used 1 (6.5oz) can minced, 1 (6.5oz) can chopped, and 1 (10oz) whole clams, drained, liquid reserved
(optional) 1 additional can of minced clams
1 - 1 1/4 C light cream
1 package (1 lb) dried long pasta - I used thin spaghetti
Parmesan cheese for serving
ground black pepper, to taste

Place bacon directly in an unheated pan. Start cooking over medium-high heat, adding olive oil when the pan starts to get hot. When bacon pieces start to become crisp, add chopped onion and spices and saute over medium-high heat until onions have become soft and started to brown. Add garlic slices and cook just until fragrant, a couple of minutes.

Add the liquid from 3 cans of clams and simmer over low heat for about 10-12 minutes. Slowly and gradually stir in the light cream, and continue simmering over low heat for 20-25 minutes. (If sauce seems too thin after about 15 minutes, thoroughly combine flour with a small amount of cream and stir into the sauce.) Be careful not to let the sauce come to a boil! At this point, cook the pasta according to the box directions.

Season sauce with black pepper, if desired. Add the clams to the sauce and heat just until they are heated through. (If the clams are overcooked, they will become tough.) Serve sauce over the cooked pasta, with ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, and Parmesan cheese.

The invitations are here!

+ I am 30.

Food experiment #7: Sweetgreen / Tangysweet - esque frozen yogurt

I had my first bite of Sweetgreen frozen yogurt last week (was it only last week?), and I can now see what all the fuss is about. After a delicious lunch with my girl Steph at Java Green, we lucked out and ran into the Sweetgreen truck (aside: how much do I love food trucks? Answer: a lot!). I got mine with some fruit toppings (chopped fresh strawberries & bananas) and chocolate chips. Delicious! I immediately decided it was time to pull out the ice cream maker from its seasonal hibernation and give this 101 cookbooks recipe a try.

Boy, was I glad I had bookmarked that blog entry, because not only did it turn out perfectly, it's also the easiest frozen treat recipe I've ever attempted! All I had to do was thoroughly combine 3 cups of full-fat Greek yogurt (I used the Cabot brand that was on sale at the local Magruder's last week) with 2/3 cup granulated sugar, chill the mixture for an hour, and then stick it in the machine for about 20 minutes. Add to the frozen yogurt concoction some chopped fruit and chocolate chips, and voila, a perfectly tangy, subtly sweet, not at all cloying, refreshing treat!

It's a two FO kinda day

Today was a two finished-object day, one a knitting project and the other a sewing project.

I bound off and finished - seamed, wove in ends, etc - the Whirligig Shrug I've been working on for the past couple of days. I used a soft 100% cotton yarn (Universal Cotton Supreme) in the prettiest shade of dusty rose for this project. Many of the baby projects I've knitted in the past have been in the non-"traditional" (cliched?) baby colors - think neutrals and greens rather than pink and baby blue (aka Columbia blue) - so I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this project in a thoroughly baby-girly color. The yarn itself is among the softest yarns I've ever worked with. The Universal Cotton Supreme is similar in softness to the Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton, but with a slightly heartier twist, which bodes well for better durability. I can already tell that there will be some pilling, but I'll keep my fingers crossed that it wears relatively well. As for public photos - none 'til after the gift lands in mama-to-be's hands - stay tuned :o)



The other FO is a pair of clamdigger-length pajama pants for me, which I made using the "Pajamas for Everyone" pattern from Heather Ross's book, Weekend Sewing. At Sister L's suggestion, I added a few special details to the basic pattern: I added grosgrain ribbon ties to the elastic waistband, with grommets at the front for the ribbon ties to pass through, as well as a bit of eyelet trim at the leg openings. The result is highly satisfactory, though not perfect. (Instead of hand-sewing the waistband opening that I'd used to thread the elastic-ribbon combo all the way 'round, I attempted to sew it shut using the machine, resulting in a rather curvy line of sewing right below the grommets :oP)


"Pajamas for Everyone," from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross.

The conclusion: I think I'm feeling confident about my idea of sewing either pajama pants for the dudes or nightgowns for the ladies in the family for Christmas. Including the soon-to-be in-laws, that would be... 2 pairs of kids' pj pants, 4 pairs of adult pj pants, 2 nightgowns, and a pair of boxer shorts. Better get to tracing, cutting, and sewing! I think I'm going to need a sewing machine of my own!

I am feeling all kinds of productive

I'm enjoying the glow of a sense of accomplishment. Is that feeling of pat-myself-on-the-back deserved? Well, I don't know, I suppose it depends on how the word "productive" is defined. But I finished a lot of stuff I needed to finish today - and that's good enough for me!

First and most importantly, I finished the endless crochet bind-off on my latest shawl project - the Haruni Shawl, pattern by Emily Ross. There's something highly satisfying about clipping off the yarn tail at the end of a knitting project (or, if feeling too lazy to locate the nearest pair of scissors, snapping it off), even while you realize that the "real" finishing still lies ahead. I will be weaving in ends (all two of 'em, unlike the dozen or so I had after binding-off my last cardigan project), washing/soaking thoroughly, and then blocking, maybe even tonight. Admittedly, I'm particularly fond of none of these activities, but they're a necessary evil to turn my crumpled piece of bunched-up knitting into a thing of lacy beauty.



Secondly, I finished labeling and stamping my save-the-date postcards - and the task only took 45 minutes or so! (Granted, we're not sending those to my parents' many guests, by agreement...) I enjoyed every second of it, because I really, really like our dear, wonderful save-the-dates.

Thirdly, I signed the room-blocking-off hotel agreement that landed in my email this morning, so now we have rooms blocked off at two hotels; we're still waiting on the third.

Fourthly, I filled out the census form that my dad asked me to complete several days ago.

And finally, I acquired a couple of spring- and summer-appropriate wardrobe items, on sale no less.

Little things, all of 'em, but I'm quite pleased with what I've accomplished today. Then again, I still have about a dozen emails waiting to be answered or written...

Love/miss

I grumble a lot about the many small stresses - and some large ones - of wedding planning, but I'm actually quite loving the process. I'm a control freak (and rather proud of it), I like to be organized, and I like to plan things (I spent too much of my college years planning large-scale events and not enough of 'em actually studying), so this is quite a lot of fun for me. I just also have fun grumbling ;o)

One of the things I miss, though - talking to G about anything other than wedding planning. Like he said last weekend, he's relieved we're taking only 6 months to plan this thing, rather than a year (or longer!). We don't think we could take a full year of all wedding, all the time!

*edited to add:* Not that we talk about nothing but the wedding. We still talk about work, and life, and all that other nonsense. It's just that between G's work schedule and mine, we end up having to cram so many decisions and detail-planning into the limited time we spend together that it feels like wedding-talk is all the talk we do. And even when we turn to other topics, one or the other of us remembers another wedding-related thing that we have to discuss and/or resolve.

Also ridiculously excited about...

...stamps. Rubber stamps. Wedding rubber stamps that look kind of like this, only with our names, initials, and addresses.

I purchased a whole set of wedding stamps - invitation return address, monogram, and newlywed return address - from SugarLetter on etsy. Etsy has been a great resource, to say the least. Not only have I purchased these stamps and a save-the-date postcard design, but I also have gotten a lot of ideas from the countless hours I throw away browsing etsy shop. At least I get something out of those wasted hours??

There is clearly a lot left on the to-do list, but for now, I'd like to think we're doing pretty well. Or at least keeping our heads above water in this whole wedding-planning process. So I'm feeling pretty good right now and hope to keep that feeling for a while. Until I realize I have a dozen other tasks that need doing right away, that is!

Never have I been so excited about postcards

They're here, they're here! My postcards are here!

G and I decided that, in addition to the save-the-date postcards, we would save on postage by having RSVP postcards. (Side note: We will not be using an acronym for the save-the-dates, because who really wants to send out STDs to their loved ones? Eww.)

We "hired" a graphic designer, the wonderful RockPaperPixel on etsy, to design our save-the-dates; this turned out to be a marvelous decision, because G and I aren't the most creative, graphic-y, or design-y of people, and Laura created such a beautiful image for us. We love her design so much that we're already planning to ask her to design the requisite first-Christmas-as-a-married-couple photo card.

The backside of the save-the-date card and the RSVP card were much simpler propositions, and so I managed to use the nifty templates from the postcard-printing website to type up those. After much dithering about fonts and rounded corners and postcard sizes and such, we finally placed our order, and a few days later, voila! A delivery courtesy of the UPS man :o)

 

So now, G and I have a hot date planned for Wednesday - labeling and stamping these babies so we can pop 'em in the mail at the end of the week. Not to mention our even hotter date this Saturday - visiting our registry store(s) and trying not to suffer a breakdown in the middle of the bedding section before dashing out into the parking lot, scanning gun still in hand.

(Thank you, K & D, for making us feel oh-so-normal for being stressed about registering for gifts. Thank you for sharing your story about actually running out of the store with the scanning gun and having to walk back inside to return it. 'Twas quite naive of me to think that picking out my own presents - I mean our own presents - would be the fun part!)

Food experiment #6: Parmesan risotto & sauteed spiced shrimp

G and I needed a simple, relatively easy, relatively quick meal for a Saturday night. I decided to make risotto, because I knew we had some arborio rice left over from G's champagne risotto the previous weekend, and because Gregg adores risotto - and because I'm no longer intimidated by risotto-cooking.

I knew we also had some salad mix left, so all we needed was a quick, easy protein. And I decided shrimp would do the trick nicely. We first went to the local Harris Teeter, but the fish counter didn't have any shrimp that had been pre-deveined and pre-peeled, so we headed to Whole Foods. Whole Foods may be pricey, but they've not let me down yet when it comes to fresh meats and fishies, all nicely prepared and ready to go.

For the risotto, I followed the same recipe as the previous weekend - for Giada's champagne risotto - substituting a nice crisp, zippy French white (I can't for the life of me recall the specifics) for the champagne and the chianti salami for the prosciutto (again).

For the shrimp, well, I winged it. I checked out the contents of G's spice cabinet - he's got a healthy spice cabinet! I ended up combining the shrimp with massive quantities of smoked paprika, cayenne, Cajun spice seasoning mix, and chipotle red pepper flakes, along with the juice of about half a (huge) lemon and a little olive oil. I sauteed the shrimp mixture, including all of the marinade juices, in G's trusty All-Clad pan in a bit of olive oil for about 3-4 minutes, removed and set aside the shrimp, and stirred in a couple of tablespoons of butter to make a quick pan sauce.

The meal was simple, and it was a hit. I think G and I will be playing around with shrimp recipes quite often...

G's birthday dinner: Champagne risotto & lemon-artichoke chicken

G has been pining and pining for risotto - Giada's champagne risotto, to be precise. So, in honor of his birthday (I won't say which age we were celebrating) and in lieu of dining out, I decided to make him happy at last and make the darn dish. Since I'm a firm believer that a balanced meal includes some kind of carb, some kind of protein, and some kind of veggie/greens, I decided to pair the risotto with one of my personal favorites - chicken breast cutlets in lemon-butter sauce with artichokes and capers (lemon-artichoke chicken, for short) - and a simple green salad with a lemon-dijon-walnut oil vinaigrette.

I made only one change to the risotto recipe: I substituted slices of artisanal chianti salami (from the dangerously convenient Marvelous Market directly across the street from the building) for the prosciutto. The salami was a satisfying sub for the prosciutto; once crisped in the oven, the salami slices became flavorful little crisps of meaty goodness, subtle but still substantial. I suspect the prosciutto, once crisped in the oven, would have lost some of its character.

As for the lemon-artichoke chicken, it's a dish I came up with after tweaking and combining elements of different recipes.

Chicken Breast Cutlets in Lemon-Butter Sauce with Artichokes and Capers
6 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins, thinly sliced (Purdue brand has them already thinly sliced)
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken broth (Whole Foods brand is great and comes in small mini-boxes)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 (12oz) jar quartered, marinated artichoke hearts, with liquid
1/4 cup capers
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)


Instructions:

1. Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden brown on both sides and no longer pink on the inside; set aside.
3. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice to the pan. Bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan to dissolve the caramelized bits. Add the artichoke hearts and capers, return to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half.
4. Whisk the butter into sauce until melted. Place the reserved cooked chicken back into pan and simmer in the sauce for a few minutes to reheat. Serve on a platter sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

It's officially official

G and I are engaged!

The news hasn't come as a shocker to a lot of people (mainly my family and close friends), because we started talking about getting married a while ago, and we've been de facto engaged for quite some time now. We set a date several weeks ago, and we went to the jeweler's together to order our rings (my engagement ring and our wedding bands) last month. But it wasn't until last Saturday that we made it official.

Though the proposal wasn't at all unexpected - we'd picked up the rings, even trying them on, earlier in the day - G managed to surprise me with the how. When we met three summers ago, we drank (a lot of) sangria and listened to (a little) jazz at the Smithsonian's weekly summer series, Jazz in the Garden. In a sentimental nod to that evening, G recreated the scene by making sangria and acquiring an album of the same musician who had performed the night we met (Joshua Bayer). To the sangria and jazz, G added a dozen of my favorite red velvet cupcakes, special-ordered from our favorite local cupcakery, Red Velvet.

Then, with the song "Matchmaker Matchmaker" playing in the background, G proposed, right there in his/soon-to-be-our apartment dining nook, on bended knee. I said "absolutely," he slipped the beautiful ring on my finger, and we drank the rose champagne that had been Christmas-gifted to us by G's brother while we called our families.

The rest of the weekend was just as wonderful: we had dinner with my family the next evening. I loved sitting down at the dinner table with my parents, my sister, and my fiance on Valentine's Day. What made the evening especially sentimental were my dad's sheer joy and ebullience - not (entirely) induced by the scotch! Not long after my parents got married, my dad and his new father-in-law drank scotch together - Chivas Regal, to be precise - and my father really wanted to share the tradition with his new son-in-law-to-be. So at his request, G arrived at the family home with a bottle of Chivas in hand - and I with a sparkly ring on mine :o)




I have hours of built-in entertainment conveniently located on the ring finger of my left hand. Who knew I'd be so easily distracted by sparkly things?

First FO of 2010

I have a love-hate relationship with sock-knitting, emphasis on the "hate" part of it until very recently (as in, the past few days). In the closing weeks of 2009, I purchased a skein of Miss Babs Yummy Sport-weight yarn (in the "oyster" colorway) and a contrasting skein of the sport-weight toes (in colorway "terracotta") at a Miss Babs trunk show at fibre space. Over the holidays, I sat on G's parents' couch, improvising the first of a pair of two-tone cuff-down socks, using the oyster colorway as the main color (MC) and the terracotta colorway as the contrasting color (CC) for the toe, heel, and cuff.



And then I found the SolidSocks group over on Ravelry.

The SolidSocks group hosts a semi-solid color-based KAL each month, with black/greys' being the January color. I rarely buy black or grey yarn, and so as I looked down at the semi-solid grey yarn in my hands, I realized that I was fated to participate in the January KAL. The only question was whether I would have enough yarn to knit two pairs of socks from the single skein of grey yarn: the two-tone socks I was improvising, and a pair of Earl Greys all in grey.

At that point, I was past the heel turn of the first two-tone sock, and I would have been miserable had I had to frog the whole sock. So I decided to continue on and keep my fingers crossed that I wouldn't run out of yarn. I also figured it wouldn't hurt to follow my creepy internet friend (CIF) Elizabeth's advice to just knit faster. So I did.

On January 2nd, I cast on for the first Earl Grey sock, and three days later, I was done with these:



Cast on: 2 January 2010 
Bound off: 5 January 2010
Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy Sport-weight in "Oyster"
Needle: US2 / 2.75mm, magic-loop on 24" KnitPicks circular needle

Because the pattern is written for a fingering-weight yarn and I used a heavier sport-weight yarn, I had to modify the pattern to suit my yarn/gauge. I also did the heel turn a tiny bit differently than specified in the pattern.

Modifications:

CO 50 sts on US2 needles. Worked ribbed cuff for 10 rnds as foll: * k1, p1, k2, p2, k2, p1, (k1, p1) x 8; rep from * once more.

Set up rnd for cable patt:* k1, work first row of cable patt, knit 8, k2tog, knit 7, work the pattern, knit 7, k2tog, knit 7. (48 stitches total)
 

Next round: Knit 1, work pattern, knit 16, work pattern, knit 15.

Cont until desired leg length is reached.

Rearrange sts to work heel as specified, so that you work heel over 24 sts. Work back and forth over 24 heel sts, slipping first st of each row, for 24 rows.

Turn heel as follows:

ROW 1: With RS facing, sl 1, k16, ssk, turn.

ROW 2: Sl 1, p10, p2tog, turn.

ROW 3: Sl1, k10, sl 1, ssk, turn.

Cont until all heel sts have been worked, ending with a WS row. 12 sts left.

Sl 1, k across heel sts, then pick up and knit sts along slipped st edge. Work across held sts, pick up sts on the other side, and cont working as specified in the original pattern.

The major plus here is that I've rediscovered the "love" part of my love-hate with sock-knitting. Using a heavier-weight yarn definitely helps, because the knitting goes by so much more quickly. Also, my Dansko Mary Jane shoes are a teeny bit too large for my (women's) size 6 feet, so wearing slightly thicker socks really helps the shoes stay on the feet.

The other plus is that, according to my knitting math, I might have just enough of the grey yarn remaining to squeeze out the MC part of the second two-tone sock. I'll have to knit toe-up to make sure I have enough yarn to finish the entire sock, and I might have a slightly longer CC cuff. But I can live with that. What a fun(ny) pair of socks that will be: my mismatched (one cuff-down sock, one toe-up sock) matching two-tone socks!

Food experiment #5: Pasta e Fagioli

I've always been a mostly-indifferent fan of soup. I like the idea of soup, especially on a cold winter evening. There are some soups I really enjoy. I absolutely adore a good matzoh ball soup. I crave chili on chilly, drizzly, freezing, rainy, snowy, etc evenings. I want to like soup more, I want to cook soup more, I want to cook soup well, especially since G loves soup and laments that he can't eat soup more often, because eating commercially-produced soup is "like eating a salt lick" (in his words). I know that I won't like soup more unless I'm exposed to it more, I know that I won't cook soup more unless I make an effort, and I know that I won't cook soup well unless I practice. So when I realized that I was left with a big ol' ham bone on my hands after our pre-New Year's Eve meal of spiral sliced ham + fixings, I was faced with the perfect opportunity to practice. The only question was which soup to cook. Initially, I thought of the classic split pea soup, or perhaps a lentil soup. I didn't think my parents would particularly enjoy those. And then, I remembered my family's fondness for pasta e fagioli.

I enjoy a good meal at a fancy restaurant as much as anyone, probably more. I also have very fond memories of yummy meals at chain restaurants and fast food joints. Olive Garden is a particular favorite of mine, thanks to my sister's college years in a small central Virginia town in which you had about four choices of finer eating establishments, all of them chains. I tended to order the pasta e fagioli soup, as did my dad and probably my mom and sister as well. So I knew that my dad would enjoy pasta e fagioli, and I figured my mom would at least be familiar with it.



My search of leftover ham bone based pasta e fagioli soup led me to this recipe. As usual, I modified the recipe as written, and made it my own. Here's what I did:

Pasta e Fagioli [8 servings]

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Beans & Ham Stock

1 (16oz) package dried navy beans

1 leftover ham bone, with some meat on it

7 C water

1 medium onion, halved

1 carrot, cut into large (2") chunks

2 stalks celery, cut into large (2") chunks

3 cloves garlic

Soup

6 oz boxed elbow macaroni

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (16oz) can diced tomatoes, no salt added

2 stalks celery, diced

1 carrot, diced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I used half regular, half chipotle)

grated Parmesan, to taste

salt & pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Cooking the beans & ham stock:

Rinse navy beans, then place in Dutch oven with ham bone, halved onion, large celery and carrot chunks, whole garlic cloves, and 7 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over medium-low heat, covered, until the beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Cooking the soup:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking, then set aside.

When beans are nearly ready, heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic until the onion softens and becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes (with liquid), celery, carrot, red pepper flakes, and 1 cup of the stock from the pot of beans. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the carrot has softened, about 10 minutes. While the tomato mixture simmers, remove the ham bone from the beans, separate the meat from the bone, dice the meat, and discard the bone.

Add the beans, cooked macaroni, and diced ham into the tomato mixture and stir to combine. Add the rest of the ham stock. Add a handful or two of grated Parmesan, salt, and pepper, to taste. Simmer gently until the macaroni and beans are tender, anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes). Stir in the chopped parsley right before serving.

Food experiment #4: Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Soup; Gussied Up BLT

G and I decided that a cold, windy day called for a hearty, simple meal, like sandwiches and soup. I'd been craving a BLT with avocado, and G loves tomato soup, so we decided those two particular items would fit the bill nicely. The last time I had attempted a tomato-basil-cream soup, it had turned out bland and disappointing, so of course, I went and did some more research to find the perfect tomato soup recipe.

Most such recipes require pureeing the soup ingredients into a smooth, homogenous texture. Well, G doesn't have a blender, a food processor, or an immersion blender (yet), so I decided to improvise and go for a chunky soup (which I prefer to super-smooth soups, anyway, as I find the texture of the latter a little creepy).

I'm fond of the smitten kitchen blog, so I was drawn to her recipe from the "classic grilled cheese + cream of tomato soup" entry. However, this Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup from AllRecipes.com also seemed intriguing. I didn't want to give up either of these recipes, so I created a blend of the two recipes - a delicious concoction of yummy goodness that I'm definitely adding to my "Recipes to Keep" box!

A few words of advice: If tomatoes aren't in season, definitely spring for the organic vine-ripened tomato at Whole Foods or a similar gourmet (translation: pricey) grocery store. If you don't have a day or two to wait for the avocado to ripen, buy it from Whole Foods. Splurge on the $6.99/lb thick-sliced smoked bacon at the Whole Foods meat counter. Your sandwich will be happier, and so will you.

Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup [6-8 servings]
A fusion of the smitten kitchen and Allrecipes versions.

3 red bell peppers
1 (28oz) can whole peeled plum tomatoes (no or low sodium preferred)
1 1/2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 thick-cut slices smoked ham, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp chipotle dried red pepper flakes
pinch ground allspice
1/8 tsp white sugar
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes (no or low sodium preferred)
3 C chicken stock (low sodium)
pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
salt & pepper, to taste
1 1/2 Tbsp brandy

Roast bell peppers under broiler until skin is charred black. Remove from heat, place in a bowl, and cover tightly with saran wrap for 15 minutes. Peel and seed, then chop and set aside.

Reserving all liquid, remove peeled whole plum tomatoes, seed, and spread in a single layer on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over tomatoes, then roast for 20-30 minutes in 450 degree oven until liquid evaporates and tomatoes develop a light, even color. Remove from heat, chop, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium to medium-low heat, then add onions, bacon, and garlic. When onion mixture begins to brown slightly, add thyme, paprika, red pepper, allspice, and white sugar. Continue to cook until mixture is well caramelized.

Add diced tomatoes with liquid, chopped roasted tomatoes, and chopped roasted red peppers. Cook for a few minutes, then add the chicken stock, reserving a small amount (about 1/8 cup). Allow to simmer for a few minutes, then add reserved liquid from can of whole tomatoes and cayenne. Stir in butter until it melts. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes, then add salt & pepper, to taste.

Combine the flour with the reserved chicken stock until it dissolves into a slurry, then add flour mixture to the soup to thicken, stirring thoroughly. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, then remove from heat and stir in brandy. Serve with sandwiches.

Gussied Up BLT [2 sandwiches]

4 slices whole-grain sandwich bread
4 slices vine-ripe tomatoes
8 thin slices avocado
4 thick-cut slices smoked bacon
2 handfuls baby arugula

Cut the bacon slices in half (to fit the bread), and arrange in a single layer on a rack placed on top of a broiler pan. Cook bacon in 375 degree oven until barely crisp, then remove and drain.

Toast the bread. For each sandwich, on a slice of bread, layer 2 slices tomatoes, 4 slices avocado, 2 slices (or 4 half-slices) cooked bacon, and 1 handful arugula, then top with another slice of bread. Serve with tomato soup.

* Note: If you'd like, you can add a tablespoon or so of the bacon drippings to the soup for flavor. I certainly did! (Of course!) *wink*

Food experiment #3: Sausage & Peppers Versions 1 & 2; Sauteed Fennel & Sweet Onions

G and I have had a whirlwind couple of weeks. We left on the night of Tue 12.22.09 to start the drive to his hometown for Christmas, completing the journey at around dinnertime on Wed the 23rd, after a quick visit with my dear friends Sansev and Kate (and their significant others, a couples meal, how cute and grown-up!). Some of the activities we did during the following week included: a big upstairs-family Christmas Eve, Christmas Mass and Christmas dinner (aka lunch) the next day, dinner at Mills Tavern in Providence with the family on Saturday the 26th, A Christmas Carol at Trinity followed by dinner at Hemenway's in Providence on Sunday, and then shopping on Monday, followed by a home-cooked-by-me meal for G and his parents. Plus, we went to the local slots-only Twin Rivers casino for a couple of hours that night, and visited G's friends and their adorable 16-month-old daughter and teeny-tiny 3-week old son on Tuesday evening. And of course, the 9-hour, 2-break drive back home on Wednesday the 30th. Whew, lots of activity packed into not a lot of days!

But anyway, let's get back to the home-cooked meal.

I regularly make some variation of sausage and peppers with pasta for G and me. I figured G's parents would appreciate this homey, hearty dish, too, accompanied by sauteed fennel and onions, with a simple strawberry shortcake for dessert. I also figured it would be a relatively easy meal to prepare, given the potential limitations of the local Stop'n'Shop and the definite limitations of the old-fashioned kitchen. Long story short, the Stop'n'Shop hot Italian sausage was surprisingly delicious, and the meal was a huge hit. Now for the recipe:

Sausage & Peppers 1.0 [6 servings]
This is the original version, with minimal sauce.

1 lb short pasta, like rotini
1.5 lb hot Italian sausages (usually I use turkey sausages, but pork sausages will work, too)
3 green bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
crushed red pepper, to taste
1 small can tomato paste
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat water and cook pasta, according to box directions, while cooking the sausage & peppers sauce. When pasta is cooked, drain and set aside, reserving about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.

Remove sausages from casings, slice into small chunks, and add to a large pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. (Usually, I just tear off small chunks right into the pan.) Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the sausages begin to brown, add pepper and onion slices. When the onion becomes translucent, add the garlic. Continue to cook over medium heat until sausage is cooked through. Add reserved pasta cooking water, starting with 1/4 cup and adding additional liquid as needed, and tomato paste. Add crushed red pepper, if desired. Allow to simmer for a few minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste. Add reserved pasta to the pan and combine with the sausage and peppers mixture, then serve.

Sausage & Peppers, 2.0 [6 servings]
This is the new version, with a lot of sauce.

1 lb short pasta, like rotini
1.5 lb hot Italian sausages (usually I use turkey sausages, but pork sausages will work, too)
3 green bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes, no salt added
crushed red pepper, to taste
1 small can tomato paste
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat water and cook pasta, according to box directions, while cooking the sausage & peppers sauce. When pasta is cooked, drain and reserve.

Remove sausages from casings, slice into small chunks, and add to a large skillet with about a tablespoon of olive oil. (Usually, I just tear off small chunks right into the pan.) Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the sausages begin to brown, add pepper and onion slices. When the onion becomes translucent, add the garlic. Continue to cook over medium heat until sausage is cooked through. Add diced tomatoes, with liquid. Add crushed red pepper, if desired. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, then add tomato paste to thicken. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Serve sausage & peppers sauce over pasta.

Sauteed Fennel and Sweet Onions [4 servings]
Adapted from Chris Sanseverino's "recipe"

1 large fennel/anise bulb
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

Using just the white bulbous part of the fennel, core the bulb and remove the outer layer as needed, then thinly slice the bulb. Thoroughly wash and drain.

In a large skillet, heat olive over medium-high heat, then add the fennel and onion slices. Saute, stirring occasionally, until well-caramelized and browned. Add salt and a little black pepper, to taste.

Big snow

The DC area was hit by a very big snowstorm - a blizzard, in fact - this weekend, starting Friday evening and lasting all day yesterday. The storm yielded an official DC/Reagan National Airport total of around 15.7 inches (and an unofficial our-backyard total of at least five inches more), making it one of the top 10 storms on record for the area and the most snow ever recorded for a single December day. So yeah, it was big snow. So big that even our relatives in Korea called to make sure we were all right after hearing about it on the news over there. Needless to say, we were housebound all day yesterday, until Dad and I finally ventured outside in the evening to dig out the cars. Luckily, that turned out to be a less daunting task than expected, because the snow was all in the form of powder - nice and light and easy to shovel. Here are some photos from throughout the storm.

Food experiment #2: Meatballs & Spaghetti

A lot of my cooking seems to involve pasta. I don't particularly mind, because I adore pasta. It's quick, it's easy, it's versatile - and it's delicious, to boot! This dish was a last-minute addition to the week's list of daily menus, prompted by the impending snowstorm. A trip to the Magruder's grocery store the afternoon before the blizzard yielded slim pickings in the meat department, so I had to substitute all ground beef for the veal-pork-beef mixture recommended on the smitten kitchen blog. Here's what I did:


Meatballs and Spaghetti [6 servings]
Adapted from smitten kitchen

Meatballs
1.5 lb 80% lean ground beef
1 C bread crumbs
1/4 C grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 to 1/2 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 to 4 Tbsp heavy cream

Sauce
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp each dried basil, parsley, oregano, dried red pepper flakes
1/2 C red wine
1 large (28oz) can peeled plum tomatoes
1 small (14oz) can peeled plum tomatoes
1 can (6oz) tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 lb spaghetti, boxed

Make the meatballs: Combine all ingredients very lightly. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2- to 3-inch meatballs.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large pot to cover bottom. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil, being careful not to crowd them, and brown them well on all sides over medium to medium-low heat, turning carefully. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don’t clean the pan.

Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs, and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until most of the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper. After simmering a few minutes, add tomato paste.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Serve hot on cooked spaghetti with some grated Parmesan.

Cranberry sauce with oranges

Since we spent Thanksgiving with all of the relatives at Aunt Teresa's, we ended up coming home with bags of midnight-Black-Friday shopping and without bags of turkey-day leftovers. So, we decided that we would need a Turkey Day, part 2. I cooked a turkey breast, along with some fixin's, including gravy, dressing, Brussels sprouts with mushrooms, mashed potatoes (there was a slight mishap that resulted in store-bought and then doctored refrigerated mashed potatoes), and of course, cranberry sauce.

Since we didn't have any Grand Marnier in the house to make my usual recipe, I had to improvise. I ended up with a sauce that I liked a great deal and that will be my go-to recipe next year. (With the addition of the Grand Marnier, of course!)

Cranberry Sauce with Oranges
Inspired by the Bon Appetit recipe

1 (12oz) package fresh cranberries
1 C sugar
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 orange's worth of peeled orange slices, chopped
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier liqueur

Preheat oven to 325°F. Place cranberries in 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle sugar and orange juice over, then mix. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until juices form and cranberries are very soft, about 1 hour. Uncover; mix in liqueur. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, about 4 hours. Mix in orange bits. Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.